A captivating, joyful comedy about love, cancer and really long journeys.
When Katie’s mum is diagnosed with bowel cancer her life grinds to a stop. But when she meets an elderly man in a radiotherapy waiting room corridor – everything changes.
One in two of us will get cancer in our lifetimes. It can happen to anyone. People who run the marathon… They’ve only got themselves to blame.
Created by multi award-winning writer-performer Katie Arnstein (Bicycles & Fish, Sexy Lamp, Sticky Door – VAULT Festival, Edinburgh Fringe; Wolverine Woman – BBC Three), The Long Run is a tender, emotionally rich – and frequently hilarious – story about human connection, cancer diagnosis, and long-distance running.
★★★★ ‘Captivating… left me poleaxed by its abundance of kindness’ – The Guardian
★★★★★ ‘Truly special… laden with comedic touches, from dry wit to gut-busting hilarity’ – Reviews Hub
★★★★★ ‘Impeccable… [an] emotional marathon through human connection’ – Fringe Biscuit
★★★★★ ‘A touching and humorous exploration of love, resilience, and human connection’ – Theatre and Tonic
‘A celebration of the transformative power of radical empathy’ – The Stage
’Its megawattage of authenticity and warmth brings all the power needed to make it a rewarding evening’ – The Times
Nominated: OffWestEnd Award for Best Performance Piece 2023
CREATIVE TEAM
Cast – Katie Arnstein & Tim Hardy
Writer – Katie Arnstein
Tour Director – Katie-Ann McDonough
Original direction by Bec Martin
Lighting Designer – Holly Ellis
Sound Designer – James Telford
Stage Manager – Iona Hicks
Producer – Grace Dickson
Associate Producer – Rory Thomas-Howes
Presented in partnership with Cancer Research UK.
About The Artist
Katie Arnstein is a writer and performer from the West Midlands. Her work includes Wolverine Woman for BBC Three, and the multi-award-winning storytelling trilogy It’s a Girl! which consists of Bicycles and Fish, Sexy Lamp and Sticky Door. These shows have been awarded Show of the Week at VAULT Festival twice, Pleasance Pick of VAULT, an Offie Commendation for a short run and been shortlisted for both The Popcorn Prize and Evening Standard Future of Theatre Award.
Katie is an Associate Artist of Pleasance Theatre and has just been Highly Commended at the Women of the Future Awards in the Arts and Culture category.
- RUNNING TIME70 mins (no interval)
- AGE RECOMMENDATION12+
- TICKETS£16 / £14
- VENUEFactory Theatre
Content warning: contains haze, strong language, themes of grief and references to cancer.
7:30pm
Standard from £16 / Concession from £14 (Tickets and prices subject to availability)
Read about concession tickets
Members on sale 12:30pm on Wed 10 July
General on sale 12:30pm on Fri 12 July
